This invention relates generally to a method and means for accelerating the dissociation of hydrogen. More specifically, this invention relates to a device and a method that increases thermal, electrical, and gas generation through the acceleration of hydrogen dissociation in a furnace.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,766 discloses a method and apparatus for producing charcoal. The method comprises introducing a material to be carbonized into, through, and out of a single chamber, retort, in which the material is heated to a carbonizing temperature by the combustion of gases emitted by the carbonization of previously inserted material. The gases are intermixed for combustion with air that is also injected into the chamber. The air and gases are directed and controlled in the chamber in such a manner that the carbonizing material is never exposed to sufficient oxygen to support free combustion thereof. An apparatus capable of carrying out the method is also disclosed.
The carbonization reaction is accompanied by a release of a large amount of gas. In the furnace disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,766, the furnace causes a localized cloud of gas rich in water vapor and including methane to be driven off a tumbling bed of wet feedstock. Due to the construction and operation of the furnace, this gas will be localized in only a portion of the rotary kiln or other combustion device. For example, in a 1,000 cubic foot rotary kiln the gas will occupy approximately 100 cubic feet of the internal chamber. At lower temperatures, it has been observed that this localized cloud of gas tends to consume a large amount of energy and thus, penalizes the thermal efficiency of the combustion process.
It has been found that during the operation of such furnaces sometimes a furnace will have a temperature runaway on the upside. For example, a furnace operating at a temperature of 2,000.degree. F. will suddenly take off to a temperature of approximately 2500.degree. to about 2800.degree. F. Moreover, it was found that the addition of water to the feedstock, and thereby to the localized cloud in the form of vapor, did not cool down the process as expected but, actually induced additional temperature elevation, temporarily. Inventor of the present invention hypothesizes that this phenomenon indicates that it is possible to induce and accelerate a hydrogen dissociation reaction taking place in the rotary furnace.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for inducing and accelerating a hydrogen dissociation reaction to thereby extract the maximum amount of energy from the reaction.